Meet the Team
HR Swagger works across both private and public sector organizations. Private sector and small business clients work directly with Dr. Shari Simpson. Public sector and municipal clients, including fire and emergency services, work with Principal Brian Simpson. Two practice areas, one standard: real operational experience, not borrowed theory.
CEO & Founder
HR Consulting, Training, and Keynotes
Principal
Public Sector & Fire Service Leadership
Shari Simpson, EdD, MBA, MHRM, SHRM-SCP
Dr. Shari Simpson has spent more than two decades in human resources, working across talent strategy, learning and development, employee relations, and organizational culture. As founder of HR Swagger, LLC, she works with small to midsize organizations through strategic advisory, leadership training, and keynote speaking, built on a practitioner's understanding of what actually moves a workplace forward, not a vendor's pitch for what should.
Shari holds a Doctor of Education in Leadership and Innovation, an MBA, a Master of Human Resource Management, and the SHRM-SCP certification. Her doctoral research examined how generational differences in learning preferences and competency clarity shape effective HR professional development, work that continues to inform how she approaches leadership training and organizational strategy.
As a keynote speaker, Shari covers leadership, employee experience, onboarding, AI in HR, and organizational culture. Her sessions combine research with direct, practical guidance, built for audiences who need something they can use Monday morning, not just a good story.
Off the stage, Shari is a military mom. One son served in the Navy, two are currently serving. She has been married for more than 25 years to a fire service leader, a household where service and accountability are lived daily, not talked about. She is also a dog mom and an avid reader.
Brian Simpson, PhD, MPA, CFO, EFO
Brian Simpson has spent more than two decades in fire service leadership, currently serving as Battalion Chief with the Village of Carpentersville. His work centers on leading change in complex public safety organizations: building trust, aligning teams around shared goals, and turning difficult periods into lasting improvement.
He holds a PhD in Emergency and Protective Services from Capitol Technology University, a Master of Public Administration from Columbia Southern University, and the Chief Fire Officer credential from the Center for Public Safety Excellence. His doctoral research examined why change and technology initiatives succeed or fail in fire service organizations, with a focus on leadership, communication, generational dynamics, trust, and organizational culture, work that directly shapes how he helps departments adopt change without losing what already works.
Brian has negotiated five labor agreements from both sides of the table, rewritten department policy and procedure manuals, and built a Community Risk Reduction program without adding staff. He holds Certified Fire Investigator and Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator credentials and has led complex origin and cause investigations alongside law enforcement and insurance partners.
He teaches emergency services leadership and incident command at the ECC Center for Emergency Services and serves as an adjunct professor at Purdue Global.
Brian co-founded DTG Leadership, HR Swagger's public sector practice, bringing decades of fire service and organizational leadership to municipalities, public safety agencies, and the people doing the work. For public sector and municipal consulting, visit DTG Leadership.